Oakland, California. Ground zero for a medical marijuana fight between states and the federal government that has only been heating up. Incorporating real audio from activists, Cagle portrays what "feels like class war" as local growers, patients and city officials fight against losing their jobs, medicine, and tax revenue.

The whole thing is here, and it's fantastic. Susie has done some of the best reporting I've seen of the Occupy movement and related protests in America—she's been jailed and injured for it. The fact that her reporting is focused through the medium of comics is just so innovative and cool. She takes true risks for her reporting, and what comes out of it is insightful, informative, and funny. I just love her work.

I’ve been playing with my FEEL FLUX for weeks and its hit rate in the amazement department is 100%.Each time you drop the metal ball through the copper tube you’d expect it to zip out the other end but instead, it lazily creeps from one end to the other and dribbles out into your waiting […]

The Black Friday Mac Bundle 2.0 is one of the Boing Boing Store’s best-selling Mac bundles yet, and it’s about to come to an end. If you don’t get your copy now, here’s what you’ll be missing:This bundle comes packing 9 top-rated Mac apps in one package, at the hugely discounted price of just $23.99. […]

The Boing Boing Store’s Gift Guide is full of ideas for pretty much anyone in your life like hipster ice cub trays, Xbox controllers, Halo Boards, and even diamond necklaces. As always, all products in the Boing Boing Store come at great discounts, too. Shop by price bucket starting at under $20. Under $20:Bloxx Jumbo Ice Trays […]

Unlike traditional lighters, the SaberLight features an electronic plasma beam that’s both rechargeable and butane-free. This sleek lighter is even approved by TSA, so you’ll never be stuck buying lighters you’ll just have to throw away partially used. For some people, like me, this is a pretty big game-changer. The SaberLight’s beam is actually both hotter and cleaner […]

It’s sad, but this is essentially where Obama lost my vote. It’s not that I want a Republican in office, it’s that I have no use for a false liberal. He’s not part of the solution, therefore he’s become a part of the problem.

Furthermore, the intent of this attack on Ed Lee was meant to send a message to all who would work to end Marijuana prohibition through democratic means. The reason they made an example of Lee was because the legalization of Marijuana constitutes a threat to the prison industrial complex. By supporting these measures Obama has indicated that he wants more Americans to live inside prisons. He wants to give cops more reasons to seize property without a trial. People need to understand that this isn’t just about Marijuana, it’s about exerting control over the populace. I hope non-users can recognize this.

It’s not that I want a Republican in office, it’s that I have no use for a false liberal.

Voting for the greater evil because you feel betrayed won’t decriminalize marijuana, but it might get you a much longer sentence with fewer rights in a much nastier prison run by a private corporation owned by the cronies of the person for whom you voted.

I’m a third-party voter, and California’s solidly Democrat, so I didn’t have to vote for Obama as a way to vote against the Republicans (unlike 1984, when I lived in New Jersey and had to vote for Walter Mondale to try to stop Reagan/Bush, which was such a smashing success…)

So Obama didn’t lose my vote when he chickened out on his promises to fix the unConstitutional UnAmerican atrocity of Gitmo, but he certainly lost my support. I was disappointed by his about-face on his promises about medical marijuana, especially because he’s used it himself, but I can’t say I was surprised. And I wasn’t expecting a Keynesian to be able to fix Bush’s economic damage (and I wasn’t expecting Obama to be either as good or as lucky as Bill Clinton), but the Republicans have abandoned all pretense of fiscal responsibility years ago so it’s not like that was a downside.

I’ve started reading David Nutt’s excellent book “Drugs without the Hot Air” (formerly a member of the UK’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs) and the disconnect between public policy and public health problems is huge and problematic.